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It seems to me that it would be more than a blunder, that it would almost 
be a crime to refuse annexation. 



SPEECH 



OF 



HON. HORACE G. SNOVER, 



OF MICHIGAN, 



IN THE 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



Tuesday, Junk 14, 1893. 



WASHINGTON. 
1898. 









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SPEECH 

OF 

HON. HORACE G. SNOVER 



The House having under consideration the joint resolution (H. Res. 359) to 
provide for annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States- 
Mr. SNOVER said: 

Mr. Speaker: It seems to ine that a glance at the map of the 
world and a careful study of the situation of the Hawaiian 
Islands and their relations to the coasts of the Pacific Ocean 
must be followed by the conviction that possession and control 
of them are absolutely essential to the United States. They 
are a necessity to this Government. The logic of the events that 
have transpired in the present year has impressed this upon the 
mind and judgment of every thinking man as never before. The 
gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Clark] on Saturday last, in speak- 
ing upon this question, paid a well-deserved tribute to General 
Jackson and drew a glowing picture of the battle of New Orleans 
and of the magnificent achievement of the conqueror of Florida, 
with inferior numbers of raw and undisciplined volunteers, over 
the seasoned veterans who had fought under the eye of Welling- 
ton in Spain, and closed the incident with the question, " Did he 
need any island behind him?" 

I would without hesitation answer "No." General Jackson, 
however, like the skillful general he was, took advantage of every 
resource in his control to make his position secure, to place every 
possible obstacle in the pathway of the attacking foe, and obtained 
a great victory under apparently adverse circumstances. If the 
possession of an island would have added in the slightest degree 
to his military resources, or would have furnished an additional 

means of defense to his army or country, the same iron will that 
3159 3 



afterwards, in 1833, nullified nullification would not have hesi- 
tated to take an island or anything else to aid his purpose. And 
right here let us look for a moment at the wonderful changes that 
have taken place since that time which have revolutionized mili- 
tary methods and changed political theories. 

The battle of New Orleans was fought January 8, 1815. The 
treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24, 1814, two weeks 
before, so that the bloodiest battle of the war of 1812 was fought 
long after the signing of peace articles, and had not the slightest 
influence on the result. 

The news of the signing of the treaty of Ghent was not received 
here until some weeks after the battle, for the reason that com- 
munications over the ocean were only possible by means of sailing 
vessels, the swiftest of which required from a month to six weeks 
to cross the Atlantic. The power of steam for the propulsion of 
vessels was practically unknown. It was not applied to railroads 
until 1830, and the use of electricity for transmission of news did 
not commence until 1844. Since then space has been annihilated, 
so far as the transmission of news is concerned, and for other pur- 
poses far distant States and nations are as close together now as 
towns of adjoining counties were at that time. 

The signing of the treaty of peace between Spain and the United 
States, wherever it takes place, whether at London, Berlin, Paris, 
St. Petersburg, Geneva, or Hongkong, will be known in every 
nook and corner of the globe within as many minutes as it re- 
quired weeks to communicate the treaty of Ghent. One can now 
converse with his friend as if sitting by his side, even when so far 
apart as New York and Chicago; and the hour is near at hand 
when oral conversation will be possible between London and San 
Francisco or Boston and Honolulu. Steam and electricity have 
become the absorbing factors in all the problems of the age, 
whether military or civic, private or public, local or general. 

In all our wars with foreign nations up to the present difficulty 
with Spain our naval vessels were built of wood, and the motive 
power was the wind, a power universal and omnipresent, accessi- 
ble to all nations and individuals, and ever ready to do the will of 
the mariner, whether in peaceful or warlike pursuits. 

Given free access to the motive power, an equal footing with 
3459 



competitors, American genius, ingenuity, and skill have always 
been able to build ships of a speed and strength equaled by few of 
the modern nations and excelled by none. With wooden ships 
and broad sails spread to the wind, manned by our hardy seamen 
and commanded by men whose names will ever shine in history 
and be household words throughout the Republic, the United 
States Navy covered itself with glory in our earlier wars. 

The Bon Homme Richard, the Constitution, the Wasp, the Pea- 
cock, the President, are proud names in our early annals, and the 
fame of John Paul Jones, Decatur, Hull, Bainbridge, Perry, and 
McDonough have not faded by the addition to the record of the 
names of the heroes of our civil war, Farragut, Porter, Gushing, 
and Ericsson— who won distinction in a new type of vessel — and 
will not grow dim before the transcendent glory of the heroes of 
the present year, Dewey and Hobson. The clumsy man-of-war of 
the sixteenth century would have been able to defeat the multi- 
tude of Roman galleys that battled for the control of the world at 
Actium. 

Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar would have been more than a 
match for the fleets of Christian and Moslem that met at Le- 
panto, and the battle ship of to-day, single handed and alone, could 
destroy the combined squadrons of France and Great Britain that 
contested for the supremacy of the Mediterranean at Aboukir. 
Heavy guns, power of resistance to projectiles, and, above all, 
speed, are the essential elements in the naval contests of the pres- 
ent. Motive power obtained by harnessing the winds can no 
longer be relied upon. The wooden sailing frigate is obsolete. 

The efficiency of the modern naval squadron depends very 
largely upon its supply of coal and its ability to replenish its 
supx)ly as fast as it is exhausted. Without coal its motive power 
is gone and its great guns useless. Such being the case, the 
strategic importance of the Hawaiian Islands as a coaling and 
refitting station for that part of our Navy stationed in the Pacific 
Ocean must be recognized, as well as the importance of prevent- 
ing its falling into the hands of those with whom future com- 
plications may arise, in which case, instead of being a bulwark 
of defense, it would be a vantage ground of offense and a menace 
to our Pacific coast. 

3159 



President Tyler, as early as 1842, recognized the superior inter- 
ests of the United States in these islands, and said, in substance, 
that the Government should prevent any of the great powers from 
gaining control of them. This was at a time when the importance 
to us was infinitely less than now. If the United States annexes 
Hawaii, she will be able to advance her line of defense 2,000 miles 
westward from the Pacific coast. 

In 1823, when the celebrated Monroe doctrine was first promul- 
gated, we had very little Pacific coast to defend, and under the 
conditions of naval warfare at that time Hawaii was of no special 
importance to us. But their annexation to-day is in strict con- 
sonance with every principle involved in the Monroe doctrine. 
It will do more to preserve ' ' America for Americans " than many 
millions invested in battle ships, will make those already built 
available, and will make the islands a perpetual warning to all 
hostile and prying powers to keep hands off the affairs of the 
American republics, great and small. 

Annexation has been favored by some of our greatest statesmen 
and military commanders. Annexation is desired by the Hawaiian 
Government itself. It is, I believe, eagerly hoped for by the 
great majority of our people. The Delphic Oracle charged the 
Greeks to depend on their navy, their ' ' wooden walls. " The navy 
of England has been her great means of defense and offense for 
hundreds of years, and has given her the proud place she holds 
among the nations. Our Navy has been a source of pride to us 
from its very infancy. 

Since the commencement of the present war with Spain it has 
increased our prestige a hundredfold, and has caused our flag to 
be honored and respected in the four quarters of the globe as never 
before in our history. It seems to me that it would be more than 
a blunder, that it would be almost a crime, to refuse annexation 
offered to us by a willing people and of so much importance and 
value to us. Let us not be like the base Indian, who "threw 
a pearl away richer than all his tribe.'' [Applause.] 

3IC9 



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